Monday, December 28, 2009

I hope my regular readers (both of you) will forgive me as this is not a hockey post - although if you look closely you will find two, maybe three, books about hockey. This is a post about reading.

Inspired by my pal Peter Simpson and his annual book entry at The Big Beat, I decided to keep track of all the books I read (or tried to read) in 2009.

Here they are: forty-seven non-fiction and five fiction titles.

Unlike Peter, rather than list them chronologically, I’ve listed mine with the favourites up front, the good but not great in the middle, and the ones I couldn’t finish (or wish I hadn’t finished) at the end.

I’ve also tucked in a comment or two about the book…some are blank as there just wasn’t much to say.

Favourites (alphabetically)

1. 1,000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die, Tom MoonOften songs or musicians can serve as a gateway into other related genres, bands, or tracks. This book helps connect those dots and serves up some great suggestions, selections and insights. Tom Moon has a website and there are two great podcasts with Tom available over at All Songs Considered that you can listen to here and here.

2. Alphabet Juice, Roy Blount jr.I almost didn’t make it past the introduction but I’m sure glad I did. An A to Z compendium of insights, tricks, tips and examples of great (and not so great) writing.

3. The Big Sort, Bill BishopMaybe the best book I read this year. A fascinating look at how communities self-sort and what it means for culture and politics.

4. Cultural Amnesia, Clive JamesI have to admit I haven’t quite finished this book yet, but I know I will. Forty essays about great thinkers, writers and artists of the 20th Century.

5. Farm City, Novella CarpenterA true story about a woman who starts a farm on an abandoned lot in inner-city Oakland. I was so moved by this book that I bought 1/3 of a hog from a local farmer and may even take an interest in my wife's garden this spring. I hope to never buy grocery store meat again.

6. How Fiction Works, James WoodSimply brilliant. I don’t even read much fiction anymore and I wanted to just curl up inside this slender book. Wonderful.

7. The Making of the Atomic Bomb, Richard RhodesNot my usual fare or area of interest but it's brilliantly done. An in-depth look at the atom from the turn of the century to the dropping of atomic bombs along with the scientists who made it all happen. Won a slew of well deserved awards.

8. Netherland, Joseph O’NeillOne of just five pieces of fiction I read this year and miles away the best of the bunch. I read this in about three sittings and then asked my wife to read it so I’d have someone to discuss it with.

10. Orwell in Spain, George OrwellOrwell’s description of being shot and, presumably, dying is one of the best pieces of writing I have ever encountered. I don’t like to mark a book, but that’s the type of passage that calls for a bent corner and marginalia.

11. Pictures at a Revolution: The Birth of the New Hollywood, Mark HarrisA very cool look at the five films nominated for the 1968 Best Picture Oscar, their origins and the impact they had on Hollywood. Enough factoids in here to get you through any dinner party (Robert Redford and Candace Bergen were originally tipped to play Benjamin Braddock and Elaine in The Graduate).

12. The Visual Display of Quantitative Information, Edward TufteI wish I was this smart.

13. World War Z, Max BrooksA brilliant concept, smashing execution and loads of fun. Only downside is my wife is very tired of hearing my plans for when the zombies come.

Glad I read ‘em (almost alphabetically)

14. The Billionaire’s Vinegar, Benjamin WallaceAmerican billionaire buys centuries old wine – was it forged? It's clear who might have forged them, so call this one a how-dunnit?

15. Double Helix, J. WatsonAmazingly candid book about the race to discover DNA.

16. Eisenhower: The President, Stephen AmbroseFormerly a blind-spot in my historical knowledge (I was inspired to read this after finishing The Making of the Atomic Bomb).

17. Farewell my Subaru, Doug FineInteresting story of a guy who moves off the grid.

18. Fooled by Randomness: The Hidden Role of Chance in Life and in the Markets, Nassim Nicholas TalebI wish I was this smart.

19. Foul Ball: My Life and Hard Times Trying to Save an Old Ballpark, Jim BoutonCorrupt small-town politics get in the way of minor league baseball dreams.

20. The Gay Telease Reader, Gay TeleaseA wonderful collection of great essays by Telease. “Frank Sinatra Has a Cold” is tremendous.

21. The Great Derangement: A Terrifying True Story of War, Politics, and Religion at the Twilight of the American Empire, Matt TaibbiHard to believe these stories are true. His writings on Congress are dispiriting; on religion sadly funny.

22. The Greatest Story Ever Sold, Frank RichLike his great Sunday New York Times column but in book form.

23. The Guinea Pig Diaries, A.J. JacobsBig fan of Mr. Jacobs' books. A collection of his essays involving personal experiments like radical truth, posing for a naked photo shoot, and outsourcing elements of his personal and professional life.

24. Innumeracy: Mathematical Illiteracy and Its Consequences, John Allen PaulosI’m still innumerate, although a little less so.

25. King of Russia, Dave KingFormer NHL Coach spends a season coaching in Russia. Interesting look at the KHL and Russian culture.

26. The Long Tail, Chris AndersonA very cool examination of the distribution of goods.

27. Lush Life, Richard PriceAnother well crafted police procedural from one of the best.

28. The New Asian Hemisphere, Kishore Mahbubani

29. Outliers, Malcolm Gladwell

30. The Rest is Noise: Listening to the Twentieth Century, Alex RossI have no idea why I ordered this book from the library (I don't even remember doing so). Glad I did as it was a very interesting read.

31. Retrofitting Suburbia, Ellen Dunham-Jones and June WilliamsonIdeas for what to do with those big box stores and the pod-style planning of suburbia.

33. Strip Tease, Carl HiaasenNot a bad book, but more importantly a good lesson: I have to remember to pack more books for the cottage next summer.

34. The Twenty-One Balloons, William Pene DuboisInspired to read this after seeing Pixar’s Up (yeah, I cried). Some really clever stuff going on in here. Read this with my six year old daughter.

35. The New Game: How Hockey Saved Itself, Steve PaikinThe intro contains some of the best writing on what it is to be a beer league hockey player.

36. The Real Price of Everything, Michael LewisI only read the material by Lewis (this thing is bigger than a cinder block). Lewis could write the phone book and I’d read it, he's one of the best writers out there.

37. The Last Tycoons, William CohanWho knew the melt-down of Wall Street Firm Bear Sterns and the credit crunch could produce a page-turner?

38. The Power Makers: Steam, Electricity, and the Men Who Invented Modern America, Maury KleinA very (almost too) detailed look at the evolution of power and technology from steam to the modern era.

39. Suburban Nation: The Rise of Sprawl and the Decline of the American Dream, Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk, Andres Duany, Jeff SpeckSome cool stuff about Markham, Ontario and more of the usual new urbanism theories.

40. A Great Idea at the Time: The Rise, Fall, and Curious Afterlife of the Great Books, Alex BeamAn interesting look at the University of Chicago/Encyclopedia Britannica's "Great Books of Western Civilization" a 54 volume set (yup, 54 volumes) that sold millions of copies in the 1950s and 60s and then pretty much disappeared.

41. The Fix, Declan HillAn investigative journalist's examination of allegations of match fixing in the world of professional soccer. Great topic, sadly it's told with the tone of a boring CBC documentary.

Meh (I think this is in chronological order)

42. The City in History, Lewis MumfordMumford's luddite tendencies were grating. I much preferred The Great Cities in History by John Julias Norwich and Cities by John Reader.

43. Alpha Dogs: The Americans Who Turned Political Spin into a Global Business, James HardingSome interesting stuff, but too much emphasis on the whole “great men” version of history

8 comments:

I have about five, maybe six, on your favourites that I first took note of when I saw them, so I'll definitely need to read them now.

Your minimal use of the word "interesting" is duly noted as well, since that word itself can encompass so many feelings. I think as a rule, I try to avoid anything, whether it be books, foods, movies, etc. that has "interesting" as the main adjective. Thanks for the recommendations through your short blurbs.

We are a not-for-profit educational organization, founded by Mortimer Adler and we have recently made an exciting discovery--three years after writing the wonderfully expanded third edition of How to Read a Book, Mortimer Adler and Charles Van Doren made a series of thirteen 14-minute videos, lively discussing the art of reading. The videos were produced by Encyclopaedia Britannica. For reasons unknown, sometime after their original publication, these videos were lost.

Three hours with Mortimer Adler on one DVD. A must for libraries and classroom teaching the art of reading.

I cannot over exaggerate how instructive these programs are--we are so sure that you will agree, if you are not completely satisfied, we will refund your donation.

and I'm running out of titles I can remember easily... but yeah... year end lists are fun. Music is another good one I'm interested in.

I also find the whole list of what people read and listen to (musically) is a solid window into their interests (i.e. Soul). This is why it's so interesting/creepy what Amazon/Google/etc. can track just by looking at what you download or search for.